The invention relates to a device for regulating the speed of a vehicle and particularly of an automotive vehicle, having an electronic regulator which has at least one first storage for storing a first speed desired-value signal as well as a control arrangement for the storage and in which a speed actual-value signal is compared with the speed desired-value signal and a corresponding setting signal is produced, and having an operating device which is connected to the regulator and has at least one button for setting the storage to the speed desired-value signal, one button for disconnecting the regulation, and a restart button for reactivating the regulation.
In one such known device, the regulator or the storage corresponding to it is set by actuating the button for setting the speed desired-value signal which corresponds to the actual speed at the time of the actuation of the button. The operating of the speed-regulated vehicle can be facilitated furthermore in the manner that, by the actuating of a button for setting an acceleration, the vehicle is accelerated until the button is released, the speed reached being fed at the same time as speed desired-value signal into the one storage. By means of a further button for setting a deceleration, the vehicle can be decelerated in a similar manner as long as this button is actuated, and upon the release of this button there is stored in the same storage a desired-value signal which corresponds to the speed reached by deceleration at this time. After the setting of the regulator or storage, the vehicle travels with the regulated speed until either a button for the disconnecting of the regulation is actuated on the operating device or the vehicle is decelerated by the vehicle brake, which also is reported as electric signal in the regulator. The vehicle can then be automatically accelerated again to a desired speed equal to the previously set speed desired-value signal by simply actuating the restart button. In this way, the previously stored speed desired-value signal for the regulation is activated. Therefore, in known devices for regulating the speed of a vehicle there is merely the possibility of bringing the actual-value of the speed automatically to the one desired value set if the speed is not intentionally continuously determined in conventional manner by the driver - actuation of the gas pedal and actuation of the brake. In actual driving, however, it may happen that the driver would initially like to drive on the open road with a given relatively high regulated cruising speed. If during the course of this travel there is encountered a section over which a maximum permitted speed prevails, as for instance in the exits and entrances of superhighways, hills or construction sites, then the regulated speed must be disconnected and the vehicle braked. The said section is then traveled over at the permitted lower speed. This can be done in the manner that by actuating the gas pedal the driver maintains this speed while observing his tachometer, which, however, is uncomfortable in the case of long sections of road. To be sure, with this procedure the stored speed desired-value for the cruising speed is maintained so that the cruising speed can be reached by actuating the restart button. If the maintaining of the reduced speed by observation of the tachometer and corresponding actuation of the gas pedal, which is uncomfortable over lengthier sections of road on which the maximum permitted speed is reduced, is to be avoided, the storage in the regulator can be set to this reduced speed as speed desired-value. In this case, however, the speed desired-value for the cruising speed is lost. Therefore, in such a case, after the end of the reduced-speed section has been reached, the regulator must be again set to the speed desired value signal corresponding to the cruising speed. This method of setting is relatively uncomfortable since the tachometer must be observed until the end of the setting process until the vehicle has accelerated to the desired speed. Furthermore, as a result of this, the attention of the driver may be diverted from the road.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop a device for regulating the speed of a vehicle and particularly of an automotive vehicle having an electronic regulator in such a manner that not only is the cruising speed regulated but, in addition, a second speed--as a rule a lower speed in the case of a limitation in the permitted speed of travel--can be automatically set without time-consuming setting processes.